Revised Acquisitions and Deaccession Policy
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1 | P a g e ACQUISITIONS AND DEACCESSION POLICY GLENDALE ARTS COMMISSION The Guidelines for the Arts, adopted by the Glendale City Council in 2005, in Objective 6.2, called for the development of art management policies. Art management policies include acquisitions and deaccession of artworks in both the portable art collection and the permanent art collection. Acquisition is here defined as the inclusion of new works in the city’s collection by gift, exchange or purchase with city funds, corporate/private donations and/or grants procured by the city. Deaccessioning is here defined as the process by which the Glendale Arts Commission, acting in accordance with the policies and procedures it has adopted, approves, and effectuates the disposal of a work of art from its portable art collection through sale or as a last resort, destruction. I. Acquisitions for Portable Art Collection. In making acquisitions for the portable collection, the Glendale Arts Commission shall make every effort to represent the broad variety of tastes with the community. To create a balanced inventory, the Commission needs to ensure a variety of style, design, and media. In addition, the Commission will seek to acquire works of art of the highest possible quality and artistic merit. The Glendale Arts Commission will consider the following guidelines in making acquisitions for the Portable Art Collection: A. The Arts Commission is governed in its acquisitions by ethical standards and takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that it is acquiring objects of licit provenance. B. Works of art shall be acquired without restrictions as to future use and disposition. The City of Glendale desires to obtain possessions of copyright on all works it acquires that are subject to copyright restrictions, though it may grant the artist any uses consistent with the policies of commissioned artworks. C. A legal instrument of conveyance, transferring title and ownership of the artwork must accompany all acquisitions. D. The donor is responsible for furnishing evaluation to the government tax agencies. Fees charged for the evaluation of gifts to the city are borne by the donor. E. The Arts Commission reserves the right to hold offered objects up to six months before reaching a decision regarding their acquisition. F. In acquiring any object, the Arts Commission is governed by its responsibility to: 1. Preserve and conserve the objects in its collection. 2. Catalogue the objects in the collections. Records of accession should be made and maintained for all art works acquired. 3. Make the objects in the collection known to the public through website, display, publication and/or other educational materials. G. The Arts Commission shall consider the following criteria when reviewing works of art for purchase or gift to the portable collection: 1. The aesthetic or historical significance of the object. 2. The object’s physical condition and whether the object is of exhibition quality. 3. Whether the city already owns sufficient examples or better examples of type of 2 | P a g e object or objects by a particular artist or in a particular style. 4. Whether the city has facilities necessary to properly care for, and safekeeping of, the object (The city has limited storage space and must consider the cost of processing, insuring, and maintaining the new artwork.) 5. Works must be original or limited signed lithographs. No reproductions shall be accessioned. 6. Whether, in the case of purchase, sufficient funds are available. II. Acquisitions for Permanent Art Collection. In making acquisitions for the permanent collection, the Glendale Arts Commission shall make every effort to represent the broad variety of tastes with the community. To create a balanced inventory, the Commission needs to ensure a variety of style, design, and media. In addition, the Commission will seek to acquire works of art of the highest possible quality and artistic merit. The Glendale Arts Commission will consider the following guidelines in making acquisitions for the Permanent Art Collection: A. The Arts Commission is governed in its acquisitions by ethical standards and takes all reasonable precautions to ensure that it is acquiring objects of licit provenance. B. Works of art shall be acquired without restrictions as to future use and disposition. The City of Glendale desires to obtain possessions of copyright on all works it acquires that are subject to copyright restrictions though it may grant the artist any uses consistent with the policies of commissioned artworks. C. A legal instrument of conveyance, transferring title and ownership of the artwork must accompany all acquisitions. D. The donor is responsible for furnishing evaluation to the government tax agencies. Fees charged for the evaluation of gifts to the city are borne by the donor. 1. The Arts Commission reserves the right to hold offered objects up to six months before reaching a decision regarding their acquisition. E. In acquiring any object, the Arts Commission is governed by its responsibility to: 1. Preserve and conserve the objects in its collection. 2. Catalogue the objects in the collections. Records of accession should be made and maintained for all art works acquired. 3. Make the objects in the collection known to the public through website, display, publication and/or other educational materials. F. The Arts Commission shall consider the following criteria when reviewing works of art for purchase or gift to the permanent collection: 1. The aesthetic or historical significance of the object that includes an assessment of the artistic content, composition, and design. 2. The object’s physical condition that includes an assessment of materials, overall condition, fabrication method, current and future conservation and restoration needs. 3. Availability of an appropriate site. 4. Works must be original. No reproductions shall be accessioned. 3 | P a g e 5. Accessibility to the general public, public safety, site improvements, costs to the city including maintenance requirements. 6. Whether the city already owns sufficient examples or better examples of type of object(s) by a particular artist or in a particular style. 7. Whether, in the case of purchase, sufficient funds are available. III. Deaccessioning for the Portable Art Collection. The Glendale Arts Commission shall make every effort to represent the broad variety of tastes within the community. To create a balanced inventory, the Commission needs to ensure a variety of style, design, and media. In addition, the Commission will seek to ensure that the portable collection contains art of the highest possible quality and artistic merit. To ensure a high quality and broad portable works collection, the city’s portable art collection shall be evaluated by staff every five years to determine which works, if any, will be deaccessioned. It is recognized that the deaccessioning of artworks is a delicate matter and must be handled with the greatest diplomacy. Any apprehension on the part of donors and/or artists that their gifts/works might be disposed of to pay operating expenses or to satisfy the individual tastes or desires of the Commission, could easily discourage and alienate potential donors and/or artists. A periodic and routine evaluation based on staff expertise will address those concerns. The Commission has an obligation to maintain the collection for the benefit of Glendale residents. It is desirable that no artwork be deaccessioned from the city’s portable art collection before five years from the date of acquisition have elapsed. Artwork accessioned under ten years require staff to make reasonable effort to notify the artist. Artwork accessioned ten or more years prior to deaccessioning will not require contacting the artist. The Glendale Arts Commission will consider the following guidelines in deaccessioning an artwork in the Portable Art Collection: A. The Arts Commission has become aware that the artwork does not have a licit provenance. B. If the works are forgeries or fakes. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that any forgery or fake it disposes of, be identified as such when it leaves the city’s collection. C. The condition or security of the artwork cannot be reasonably guaranteed. D. Works whose condition requires restoration in gross excess of their aesthetic value or works in such a deteriorated state that restoration would prove either unfeasible or misleading. E. If the works are duplicates (e.g., prints, multiples, sculptures) of lesser quality of works already in the collection. F. If the works represent in large quantity from a single artist of minor stature. In such a case, the Commission may find it both sufficient and desirable to retain only a representative selection. G. There has been sustained and overwhelming public objection to the artwork over a five- year period. H. If the work has little or no aesthetic and/or historical/cultural value; or is a copy or pastiche without significant historical, documentary, or aesthetic value. I. If the city cannot properly care for or store the works. This may require that a certain number of works be evaluated for deaccessioning. 4 | P a g e IV. Deaccessioning for the Permanent Art Collection. The Arts Commission shall make every effort to represent the broad variety of tastes within the community. To create a balanced inventory, the Commission needs to ensure a variety in style, design, and media. In addition, the Commission will seek to ensure that the permanent collection contains art of the highest possible quality and artistic merit. It is recognized that the deaccessioning of art works is a delicate matter and must be handled with the greatest diplomacy. Any apprehension on the part of artists that their works might be disposed of to pay operating expenses or to satisfy the individual tastes or desires of the Commission, could easily discourage and alienate potential artists. It is therefore desirable that no artwork be deaccessioned from the city’s permanent collection before five years from the date of installation have elapsed. Staff will make reasonable efforts to notify the artist whose work is being considered for deaccessioning. The Glendale Arts Commission will consider the following guidelines in deaccessioning an artwork in the Permanent Art Collection: A. The Arts Commission has become aware that the artwork does not have a licit provenance. B. If the work is a forgery or fakes. The Commission is responsible for ensuring that any forgery or fake it disposes of, be identified as such when it leaves the City’s collection. C. The condition or security of the artwork cannot be reasonably guaranteed. D. Works whose condition requires restoration in gross excess of their aesthetic value or works in such a deteriorated state that restoration would prove either unfeasible or misleading. E. There has been sustained and strong public objection to the artwork over a five-year period. F. If the site where the artwork is located is undergoing changes due to capital improvements or redevelopment such that the site is no longer appropriate for the artwork. In such instances, every effort to relocate the artwork to another appropriate location shall be made in consultation with the artist and subject to the artist’s approval.